MANILA: Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures slumped on Thursday, along with steel benchmarks in China as sentiment soured, mirroring a broader risk aversion triggered by fears of a banking crisis.
Top steel producer China’s reported plan to again cut annual crude steel production this year also weighed on iron ore and other steelmaking ingredients, along with uninspiring Chinese property sector data.
The most-traded May iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange fell as much as 3% to 900.50 yuan ($130.31) a tonne, its weakest since March 9. On the Singapore Exchange, benchmark April iron ore shed as much as 3.2% to $127.95 a tonne. “The international macro volatility has intensified,” Sinosteel Futures analysts said in a note.
Asian stocks slid and investors turned to the safety of gold, bonds and dollars, as Swiss lender Credit Suisse became the latest focal point for fears of a banking crisis.
Also, “policy risks continue to increase”, adding to iron ore’s price volatility, Sinosteel analysts said.
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